President’s Report – January 2015

Happy New Year. At the December Social Meeting I was honoured to be elected as President of our great club. Having been a member since 1993 it is interesting to reflect on some of the things that have occurred and how things have changed. Way back in 1993 I received member number 388. My first club trip was to the Peake Sand Dunes, driving a SWB Pajero. The cars were mostly pretty basic back then, 4 cylinder petrol’s were in the majority, while a few in the club were just trying out their newly purchased NH Pajeros with powerful 3.0L V6 engines. Diesel’s were clearly in the minority and mostly noisy smoky underpowered things. There were no such things as driver airbags, traction or stability control, and momentum was key to cresting the sand dunes. I had not really done much 4WDing at the time, and found that the support and guidance provided by experienced club members invaluable and I made many new friends, some of which remain firm friends some 21 years later.

We have recently allocated member number 918, members have come and gone, while there are also many that have joined and hung in for the long haul. We visited Peake this year, 21 years after my first visit experience. The vehicles have changed, now loaded with safety gear and Diesels everywhere but I believe the way the club supports new members is probably still the same. I witnessed plenty of smiles and heard many positive comments from the 1st time members present. We are now offering a good training package and the knowledge learned over the years is being passed on to newer members with our driver practice adviser program.

While writing this column, I looked back on my time with the club. Using photo albums, past issues of Catchat and my memory I counted 178 trips away to destinations all over Australia. Day, weekend and longer trips have been enjoyed over the years. The Mitsubishi club has a proud history and a great future ahead.

I hope all members are getting from the club what they wish for. If you are not, please raise your issues with myself or anyone in the committee. We are always looking at ways to improve members’ experiences.

Steve Pearson

President Mitsubishi 4WD Club SA. president@mitsubishi4wdclubsa.org.au